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Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding
What would it be like for modern readers to sit down beside Jesus as he explained the Bible to them? What life-changing insights might emerge from such a transformative encounter?
Lois Tverberg knows the treasures that await readers willing to learn how to read the Bible through Jewish eyes. By helping them understand the Bible as Jesus and his first-century listeners would have, she bridges the gaps of time and culture in order to open the Bible to readers today.
Combining careful research with engaging prose, Tverberg leads us on a journey back in time to shed light on how this Middle Eastern people approached life, God, and each other. She explains age-old imagery that we often misinterpret, allowing us to approach God and the stories and teachings of Scripture with new eyes. By helping readers grasp the perspective of its original audience, she equips them to read the Bible in ways that will enrich their lives and deepen their understanding.
Lois Tverberg knows the treasures that await readers willing to learn how to read the Bible through Jewish eyes. By helping them understand the Bible as Jesus and his first-century listeners would have, she bridges the gaps of time and culture in order to open the Bible to readers today.
Combining careful research with engaging prose, Tverberg leads us on a journey back in time to shed light on how this Middle Eastern people approached life, God, and each other. She explains age-old imagery that we often misinterpret, allowing us to approach God and the stories and teachings of Scripture with new eyes. By helping readers grasp the perspective of its original audience, she equips them to read the Bible in ways that will enrich their lives and deepen their understanding.
288 pages, Paperback
Published May 21, 2019
1599 people are currently reading
1865 people want to read
About the author
Lois Tverberg
16 books167 followersLois Tverberg has been speaking and writing about the Jewish background of Christianity for the past twenty years. Her passion is to translate the Bible’s ancient setting into fresh insights that deepen and strengthen Christian faith.
Lois grew up with plenty of Sunday school knowledge, but it wasn’t until after she had earned a PhD in biology and was teaching as a college professor that her fascination for biblical study was ignited by a seminar at her church. She has since studied several times in Israel, taking courses in biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, and in the physical and cultural context of the Bible.
In 2009 Lois partnered with Ann Spangler to write the bestselling Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus (Zondervan). Together they explored his first-century world of rabbis and disciples, festivals, prayers and the Torah, and discovered how restoring Jesus to his Jewish reality sheds light on his life and ministry.
Later Lois followed up with Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus (Zondervan, 2012), where she challenged her audience to follow their Rabbi more closely by hearing his teachings in light of Jewish thought.
She released her latest book in 2018: Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus (Baker). By showing how the Bible communicated ideas within a Middle Eastern, Jewish cultural context, it equips its audience to read the Scriptures more like first-century disciples and give them tools to explore it more deeply.
Lois brings to her writing a surprising set of tools from her training as a scientist. She received her BA in physics at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and her PhD in Molecular Physiology from the University of Iowa. She has published several scientific papers and holds a patent from her PhD research. For several years she taught biology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
In 2001 she cofounded the En-Gedi Resource Center (EnGediResourceCenter.com), an educational ministry with a goal of deepening Christian understanding of the Bible in its context. There she published her first book, Listening to the Language of the Bible (En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004), a devotional guide to Hebrew words and ideas.
Lois currently writes from her home in Holland, Michigan. Along with writing, she speaks at churches, conferences, and retreats. Her current news and articles are available on her website, Our Rabbi Jesus: His Jewish Life and Teaching, at http://OurRabbiJesus.com.
Lois grew up with plenty of Sunday school knowledge, but it wasn’t until after she had earned a PhD in biology and was teaching as a college professor that her fascination for biblical study was ignited by a seminar at her church. She has since studied several times in Israel, taking courses in biblical Hebrew, Koine Greek, and in the physical and cultural context of the Bible.
In 2009 Lois partnered with Ann Spangler to write the bestselling Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus (Zondervan). Together they explored his first-century world of rabbis and disciples, festivals, prayers and the Torah, and discovered how restoring Jesus to his Jewish reality sheds light on his life and ministry.
Later Lois followed up with Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus (Zondervan, 2012), where she challenged her audience to follow their Rabbi more closely by hearing his teachings in light of Jewish thought.
She released her latest book in 2018: Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus (Baker). By showing how the Bible communicated ideas within a Middle Eastern, Jewish cultural context, it equips its audience to read the Scriptures more like first-century disciples and give them tools to explore it more deeply.
Lois brings to her writing a surprising set of tools from her training as a scientist. She received her BA in physics at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and her PhD in Molecular Physiology from the University of Iowa. She has published several scientific papers and holds a patent from her PhD research. For several years she taught biology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
In 2001 she cofounded the En-Gedi Resource Center (EnGediResourceCenter.com), an educational ministry with a goal of deepening Christian understanding of the Bible in its context. There she published her first book, Listening to the Language of the Bible (En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004), a devotional guide to Hebrew words and ideas.
Lois currently writes from her home in Holland, Michigan. Along with writing, she speaks at churches, conferences, and retreats. Her current news and articles are available on her website, Our Rabbi Jesus: His Jewish Life and Teaching, at http://OurRabbiJesus.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
April 16, 2018
In today’s world, we recognize the need to understand and respect cultural differences. Besides being necessary, it’s hugely enriching! How much more, then, should Christians become more familiar with the culture and viewpoint of the people for whom the Bible was first written? It would help us better understand the Word of God that we live by. Lois Tverberg’s book is a compelling path into the Hebraic culture of Bible times, enjoyable and accessible for readers at all levels of biblical knowledge. It’s perfect for Bible study groups because each chapter has questions for further discussion at the end, as well as recommended reading for further study.
First and foremost, Tverberg’s book is significant because it puts Jesus back in His Jewish context while fully upholding the tenets of our faith. It explores Messianic prophecies, how they were viewed in His time, and how He fulfilled them. (I got chills reading about Isaiah 53.) This book explains how He claimed to be the Messiah in ways that non-Jews might miss.
The book also shows how understanding the cultural context and historicity of the Bible is faith-affirming. If there’s something that our Western minds can’t grasp, we’re apt to dismiss its veracity. But when we get a glimpse of the radically different mindset of non-Euro-American civilizations, we realize that what we questioned makes perfect sense to the other half of the world’s population. I enjoyed learning about the differences, especially the ones that explain some confusing parts of the Bible (such as why the “begat” sections are important).
I loved how Tverberg examined the full meaning of the Hebrew words behind terms that are pivotal to our faith, such as Christ, gospel, king, and fear/reverence. There’s an appendix called “Thirty Useful Hebrew Words for Bible Study,” a wonderful resource that curates the words she talked about in the book as well as words she didn’t cover.
The section on how Jews read the Bible was also very enlightening. As the book depicts, adopting some of their methods would be beneficial to Christians in our search to better know God’s Word and understand our Messiah. It’s amazing how they memorized it, how they connected it, how they quoted from it … and what a sophisticated scholar Jesus was.
There’s so much more I could say in praise of this book, but probably the best thing I could do is encourage you to read it. It will deepen your appreciation for God’s message to humanity and for His chosen people, and it will remind you of His greatness!
(I was graciously provided a copy of this book for my honest review.)
First and foremost, Tverberg’s book is significant because it puts Jesus back in His Jewish context while fully upholding the tenets of our faith. It explores Messianic prophecies, how they were viewed in His time, and how He fulfilled them. (I got chills reading about Isaiah 53.) This book explains how He claimed to be the Messiah in ways that non-Jews might miss.
The book also shows how understanding the cultural context and historicity of the Bible is faith-affirming. If there’s something that our Western minds can’t grasp, we’re apt to dismiss its veracity. But when we get a glimpse of the radically different mindset of non-Euro-American civilizations, we realize that what we questioned makes perfect sense to the other half of the world’s population. I enjoyed learning about the differences, especially the ones that explain some confusing parts of the Bible (such as why the “begat” sections are important).
I loved how Tverberg examined the full meaning of the Hebrew words behind terms that are pivotal to our faith, such as Christ, gospel, king, and fear/reverence. There’s an appendix called “Thirty Useful Hebrew Words for Bible Study,” a wonderful resource that curates the words she talked about in the book as well as words she didn’t cover.
The section on how Jews read the Bible was also very enlightening. As the book depicts, adopting some of their methods would be beneficial to Christians in our search to better know God’s Word and understand our Messiah. It’s amazing how they memorized it, how they connected it, how they quoted from it … and what a sophisticated scholar Jesus was.
There’s so much more I could say in praise of this book, but probably the best thing I could do is encourage you to read it. It will deepen your appreciation for God’s message to humanity and for His chosen people, and it will remind you of His greatness!
(I was graciously provided a copy of this book for my honest review.)
January 2, 2018
There are a handful of books that have challenged me and changed the way I look at the Bible and forced me to grow in my knowledge of God; this is one of them. The book is filled with so many ideas that I've never contemplated or never thought to meditate on. The author's explanation of Jewish culture, context, scriptures and study habits and how those all effected Jesus and the way he taught have completely challenged what I thought I knew about the Bible. She explains how our Western way of thinking stands in the way of our understanding of Christ's teachings...our very way of thinking! She also points out in a very clear and well deserved criticism of the church that we are woefully uneducated in the Old Testament and Prophets...that in order for us as individuals and the Western church at large to have the veil lifted from our eyes, we need to humble ourselves and return to the ancient teachings and mediation habits. If you grew up in the Western world and have ever thought that you know the Bible and it's teachings, that the gospels seemed simplistic or the Old Testament was out of touch, then you must read this book and see for yourself. Judge for yourself, evaluate for yourself if there isn't so much more contained in the pages of your Bible that you never even knew existed. Make sure you get all the way to the end of this book, the most valuable teachings are in the back....be warned, don't miss them!
May 30, 2024
4.5🌟
Audiobook (narrated by Pam Ward) & Kindle ebook
Another excellent book from Lois Tverberg to help Christians understand Jesus and the Bible as the people it was first written for would have understood it and as Jesus would have taught it. Tverberg’s books, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus are two of my favorite books, both earning 5 star ratings from me. All are highly recommended for Christians who want to go deeper.
Robin’s Ratings
5🌟 = Out of this world. Amazing. Unforgettable. A personal favorite.
4🌟 = Loved it. Will recommend to others.
3🌟 = Liked it. Glad I read it.
2🌟 = The book was okay, but I’ve enjoyed others so much more.
1🌟 = I didn’t like it and can’t recommend it.
Audiobook (narrated by Pam Ward) & Kindle ebook
Another excellent book from Lois Tverberg to help Christians understand Jesus and the Bible as the people it was first written for would have understood it and as Jesus would have taught it. Tverberg’s books, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus are two of my favorite books, both earning 5 star ratings from me. All are highly recommended for Christians who want to go deeper.
Robin’s Ratings
5🌟 = Out of this world. Amazing. Unforgettable. A personal favorite.
4🌟 = Loved it. Will recommend to others.
3🌟 = Liked it. Glad I read it.
2🌟 = The book was okay, but I’ve enjoyed others so much more.
1🌟 = I didn’t like it and can’t recommend it.
January 4, 2018
As a disciple of Rabbi Jesus, I often find myself wondering what it would have been like to walk ancient roads with him, listening to him teach, seeing him heal, watching him interact with both the poor and the powerful.
Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus offers a chance to once again, walk with the rabbi.
Lois Tverberg’s previous books, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, brought amazing insights and changed my understanding of Jesus.
This third book in the series continues the excellent but accessible scholarship. Anyone studying Scripture should ask not just “what does it mean now?” but “what did it mean then?” Tverberg dives not only into Hebrew words, but also looks at the culture Jesus lived in, and the wide gap that divides that culture with ours.
She writes: “ a cultural gap separates us from a world that longs for a mighty ruler. Living in a safe society, we can’t relate to this widespread longing for protection and justice. We read biblical imagery and call it ‘primitive’ and ‘violent’ because we have little concept of the harsh reality that many in the world endure even now.”
This book is an important one, because of the tragic decline in biblical literacy in our culture. It’s a reminder that the gospels, which tell Jesus’ life story, were written in a cultural and religious context. That religious context especially was based on the Jewish scriptures, which Christians call the Old Testament.
In some ways, this book reminded me of Philip Yancey’s book from years ago, The Bible Jesus Read.
We need to understand not only the words of the Old Testament, but its culture as well, in order to fully understand Jesus and his message. Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus unpacks for the reader some of the important aspects of culture that influenced not just what happened before Jesus was born, but how people would understand him as he taught and healed and interacted with the people of his day.
This book helped me understand more deeply the ancient setting of the Bible, and just how radical not only Jesus was, but how radical God is, and was. I love this quote about the Torah: “The idea that human life was uniquely precious to God was radical, unparalleled. To us it is second nature, but this was a shocking notion in the world of the ancient Near East.”
If you ever find yourself puzzled by the Bible or wanting to understand Jesus in a deeper way, read this book. I highly recommend it.
(I received a free review copy of the book, but this review is completely my opinion.)
January 30, 2018
This was one of the best books I have read.
A few years back a Pastor mentioned a book titled "Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes". It is a book that deals with how we Westerners can misread scripture because we come from such a different culture. The book was excellent and I have continued searching for books that can help me understand the culture and therefore the Bible better. I tended to be self-centered when I read the Bible and think, "What is God telling me?" instead of asking, "What was God telling the original audience and what does He want me to learn from it/how do I apply it?" It is a subtle difference but I think a distinct one. God did choose to address people at specific times and in specific places to write the Bible. He wrote it to their culture and society. I realized that without more understanding of the culture the Bible was written in/to I would not be able to understand the Bible as much as I want to.
Anyhow, on to the review. Does this book help me understand the culture, language, ways people thought during Biblical times so that I can know God better? Yes. I learned a lot listening to it. I had so many "Aha!" moments when I would go, "Well, that makes sense now!" Like, why can't wool and linen be combined? It is because the priestly garments and the weavings in the Tabernacle were made out of that combination of cloth. Lay people were not to dress like the priests. The priests were supposed to stand out. There were many others and this is a book I will be going through again. I do have a second one of hers as well and I am looking forward to starting it.
I would really recommend this book. It is simply written but that doesn't mean it is "light" reading. There is lots to think about. You will want your Bible handy to make notes.:)
A few years back a Pastor mentioned a book titled "Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes". It is a book that deals with how we Westerners can misread scripture because we come from such a different culture. The book was excellent and I have continued searching for books that can help me understand the culture and therefore the Bible better. I tended to be self-centered when I read the Bible and think, "What is God telling me?" instead of asking, "What was God telling the original audience and what does He want me to learn from it/how do I apply it?" It is a subtle difference but I think a distinct one. God did choose to address people at specific times and in specific places to write the Bible. He wrote it to their culture and society. I realized that without more understanding of the culture the Bible was written in/to I would not be able to understand the Bible as much as I want to.
Anyhow, on to the review. Does this book help me understand the culture, language, ways people thought during Biblical times so that I can know God better? Yes. I learned a lot listening to it. I had so many "Aha!" moments when I would go, "Well, that makes sense now!" Like, why can't wool and linen be combined? It is because the priestly garments and the weavings in the Tabernacle were made out of that combination of cloth. Lay people were not to dress like the priests. The priests were supposed to stand out. There were many others and this is a book I will be going through again. I do have a second one of hers as well and I am looking forward to starting it.
I would really recommend this book. It is simply written but that doesn't mean it is "light" reading. There is lots to think about. You will want your Bible handy to make notes.:)
August 29, 2019
Great cultural background on the Jewish biblical world, how the OT connects to Jesus!
Euvangelion as “gospel/good news” referred to the announcement that a new king had taken the throne, that a new kingdom had taken power; it was good news to the empire and its citizens.
Prohibition on two material blend of clothing: The priestly garments were a combination of wool and linen. No one could blend together aromatic spices in the same way as anointing oil. They were fresh from the pagan world. Today, it’s illegal to dress up in a way that impersonates a police officer.
Euvangelion as “gospel/good news” referred to the announcement that a new king had taken the throne, that a new kingdom had taken power; it was good news to the empire and its citizens.
Prohibition on two material blend of clothing: The priestly garments were a combination of wool and linen. No one could blend together aromatic spices in the same way as anointing oil. They were fresh from the pagan world. Today, it’s illegal to dress up in a way that impersonates a police officer.
February 17, 2020
This book has already changed the way I read the Bible. Understanding a Jewish perspective of thought was incredibly helpful for me, and I would recommend it for everyone.
April 1, 2025
I had already been thinking that I should probably learn Hebrew or Greek after Japanese, Korean, Italian, Swedish, and maybe brushing up on Latin. Now I'm definitely learning Hebrew, and it's vying with Italian to be my fourth language.
This book wasn't as perspective shifting as Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible or Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World or even The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, and some of the concepts were already somewhat familiar (perhaps picked up via Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels and Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians or simply acquired through historically informed sermons), but it succinctly put a lot of things that had been more nebulous in my mind, and it was very enlightening on other points (such as how a single Hebrew word is often translated into multiple English words, obscuring its repetition and significance across the entirety of the biblical text, or how figural reading shows connections throughout the Bible's narrative that one wouldn't necessarily recognize otherwise). The parts on the traditions surrounding the weekly Torah readings paired with the Haftarah have already inspired me to seek out an English translation of the Jewish scriptures (NJPS 1985), and my interest is whetted in following along with the standard weekly reading pairs. I'll definitely be reading this again to glean more from it, and I highly recommend it.
This book wasn't as perspective shifting as Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible or Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World or even The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, and some of the concepts were already somewhat familiar (perhaps picked up via Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels and Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians or simply acquired through historically informed sermons), but it succinctly put a lot of things that had been more nebulous in my mind, and it was very enlightening on other points (such as how a single Hebrew word is often translated into multiple English words, obscuring its repetition and significance across the entirety of the biblical text, or how figural reading shows connections throughout the Bible's narrative that one wouldn't necessarily recognize otherwise). The parts on the traditions surrounding the weekly Torah readings paired with the Haftarah have already inspired me to seek out an English translation of the Jewish scriptures (NJPS 1985), and my interest is whetted in following along with the standard weekly reading pairs. I'll definitely be reading this again to glean more from it, and I highly recommend it.
April 28, 2025
Extremely helpful and accessible book about reading the Bible with the Jewish context in mind! I want to read more by her. This made sense of many confusing things and opened my eyes to the importance of rediscovering the Jewish heritage of the Scriptures. Highly recommend! I listened to this audiobook on Spotify premium.
November 4, 2023
I wish six stars was an option!!!
January 2, 2018
Lois' new book is out today! I cannot encourage you to read it enough. Every one of her books has changed my ideology about what Scripture is conveying to us. There is much more there than meets the eye. I can't encourage you to read it enough. You will be encouraged to love God more. Your perspective of what God is doing around you will be shifted into something beautiful.
I have known that the Hebrew culture has long been more of a "we" culture than a "me" one. Lois helped me see the depth of all of that. I loved how she said that Southerners had gotten this concept right with being a "y'all" society.
Her explanation of the word love being an action one took instead of an emotion that we respond to helped explain many scriptures. We actively love our neighbor and our enemy even when we do not feel loving. Our Westernized culture has made love about me and my feelings. Love is an outward response to the inward call of God.
I don't want to give away everything in the book. I want you to read it. Every single explanation and the excellent way she explained it was fascinating. Remember was another word that stood out to me. It can be confusing as to why God would need to remember things. This word usage wasn't about him forgetting and then recalling. It was about him acting on what he knew. Remembering was a call to act. For God to remember us was a petition for him to act on our behalf.
(Affiliate links are a great way to support the bloggers you love.)
I was fortunate to be able to ask Lois some questions with a handful of other bloggers. Here is that interview.
Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus
Interview Questions and Responses
You’ve written a couple of other books before this one that have similar titles – Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi
Jesus and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus. How do they relate to your new book?
Sitting at the Feet was about the Jewish customs that deepen our understanding of Jesus’ life and ministry, like the biblical feasts, the Jewish prayers, and the relationship of rabbi and disciple. Walking in the Dust was about the Jewish context of Jesus’ teachings. Many of the things he said make much more sense when you know the conversation that was going on around him. Disciples are supposed to “walk in the ways” of their rabbi and obey his teaching. So I chose some of Jesus’ teachings that are especially practical for our lives and have a Jewish context that sheds light on their meaning.
My newest book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, pulls back a bit and starts by looking at cultural issues that get in the way as we read the Bible in the modern, Western world. Among the things I asked myself as I wrote were, what cultural tools can I give readers to read the Bible more authentically? How does a lack of grasp of Jesus as a Jewish Middle Easterner cause us to misunderstand his words? Ultimately, my goal was to equip the average Christian to read the Bible more like first-century disciple.
In your new book you talk about cultural differences that get in the way of understanding the Bible and suggest that we need to grasp how the Bible “thinks.” What do you mean by that?
I started the book with a story about when my five year old nephew arrived in Iowa from Atlanta for Christmas. He had never seen snow before, so he asked, “What do you do with the snow when you have to mow the lawn?” He couldn’t imagine a reality where people didn’t mow their lawns year round, so he assumed it was universal. In the same way, many of our problems with the Bible come from misunderstanding its cultural reality and projecting our own onto it instead. We need to grasp how the Bible “thinks” – the basic background assumptions that biblical peoples had about life. Often these were very different than ours today. It’s also important that we don’t mix these two worlds together inappropriately, like mixing lawnmowers and snow.
You mention an acronym, “WEIRD,” that psychologists coined for the ways that that American culture is unusual compared to the rest of the world. How do you think this comes into play in reading the Bible?
The acronym “WEIRD” stands for “Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic.” All these traits tend to characterize Europeans and especially Americans. We live in an educated, Western culture that values scientific thought above all else. We are industrialized, so that our world does not revolve around family and clan, but around work and business. We are relatively rich, so that many basic worries are simply not on our radar screens. We live in a democracy and dislike all hierarchy and authority.
I point out that these same characteristics tend to set us apart culturally from the Bible, so that major biblical themes, like farming and kings, simply do not resonate. I explore these and other cultural difficulties that modern readers (especially Americans) have with the Bible.
There’s a chapter titled “Greek Brain, Hebrew Brain” where you discuss the difference between Western vs. Eastern thought. How does this influence how we read the Bible?
Western thinking is very analytical, theoretical and focused on abstract concepts. It began in Greece in the 5th century AD and has deeply affected European-based cultures. We see it as the essence of mental sophistication and have a hard time imagining that anyone could think any other way. Much of the Bible, however, communicates in a more ancient way. It speaks in concrete images and parables rather than abstract concepts and argumentation. In this chapter, I show that brilliant ideas can be expressed this way too, and to give readers some basic skills to bridge the gap between East and West.
Another chapter is called, “Why Jesus Needs those Boring ‘Begats.’” In it you point out that many people wonder why the Bible contains so many meaningless lists of names. What is significant about genealogies, culturally? Why were they included?
In the Bible, family was central. Even if you don’t agree with it on every issue, you have to grasp how it “thinks” in terms of family as the center of reality in order to follow its most basic themes. The growth and relationships of a family were the core of how societies functioned. The main theme of the biblical story is God’s promise to Abraham to give him a great family, and the covenant that God makes with that family, Israel. Every time genealogies are listed it shows how God is fulfilling his promise. Even in the New Testament, whether or not believers in Christ needed to be “sons of Abraham” (Torah-observant Jews, who lived by the family covenant) was a major issue.
How does our perspective change if we read the Bible as a “we” instead of merely as an individual?
Americans are very individualistic, and we tend to focus on the Bible as a series of personal encounters between individuals and God. We also assume that the ultimate audience for Bible reading is “me.” We miss how often the Scriptures focus on the group rather than the individual. When Jesus preaches, he’s almost always addressing a crowd. When Paul tells his audience that they are a temple of God, we hear it as about how “my body is a temple.” But Paul is actually talking about them all together as God’s temple, not to each of them individually. In this chapter I point out many places where things make more sense when you see them in light of their communal implications.
Here’s another example of how “we” is important. People talk about Jesus is “my personal savior” and struggle to find the gospel in the Gospels. That’s because the biblical imagery is actually about Christ saving a group of people. Jesus is the “Christ,” God’s anointed king, who has come to redeem a people to be his kingdom. When we “accept Christ” we are submitting to his kingship and joining his people. The imagery of a “kingdom” is inherently plural, so it passes right by us.
You tell about a Christian scholar who theorized that Paul knew his Scriptures by memory. Christian scholars were very skeptical, but Jewish scholars strongly agreed with him. Why was this story important to you?
When I first started hearing about Jesus’ Jewish context, I was skeptical about whether it could be of use to Christians. I was also skeptical of ideas like that Jesus and Paul likely knew their Scriptures (our Old Testament) by heart and expected their listeners to be very familiar with them too. I was told that they would hint to it and drop in little quotes often in their teaching, and these hints were often quite important to grasping the point.
At first, I absolutely didn’t believe this. But as I studied more about traditional Judaism, I discovered that even since the first century, rabbinic sermons have been overloaded with hints, quotes and subtle links to Bible passages. Memorization has been strongly stressed. I laughed when I read about a scholar on Paul’s Jewish context who spoke about this at conferences about twenty or thirty years ago. Christian scholars would all poo-poo him and say, “highly unlikely” or “totally impossible.” The Jewish scholars in his audience, however, would all nod their heads in agreement and say, of course he did!
In the last section of the book I go into more detail about how Jewish teachers studied their Scriptures and alluded to them in preaching. Most importantly, I talk about how some of Jesus’ boldest claims to being the Messiah, the Christ who God sent as Savior, were delivered in this very subtle Jewish way. There are a lot of skeptical scholars who have said that Jesus was just a wandering wise man whose followers exalted to a divine status. But they know nothing about Jesus’ Jewish habit of hinting to his Scriptures, so they miss some of his most powerful statements about being the Son of God.
What started your interest in the Jewishness of Jesus? Was there a particular event that piqued your interest?
I was raised in a devout Christian home. I’m not Jewish and my overall interest is in understanding the reality of Jesus and the Bible, rather than Judaism per se. A little over twenty years ago I signed up for a seminar on ancient Israel and the Jewish culture of the Bible at my church, thinking it would be just some dry historical information. But all of a sudden Bible stories that were foggy and confusing became clear and deeply relevant to my life. I started hearing the words of Scripture through the ears of its ancient listeners, and it made all the difference in the world.
My background was originally in the sciences, and I have a Ph. D. in biology. I was teaching as a college biology professor and my background in research compelled me to dig deeper. Over the years I’ve traveled to Israel several times to experience the land and history in person and to study the language and the culture. Every time I come home I’m newly inspired, because in the past few decades scholars and archaeologists have unearthed enormous amounts of information that clarifies the Bible’s stories, particularly the Jewish setting of Jesus.
Why do you think that so many Christians are unaware of their Jewish heritage?
All of the disciples were Jewish, and the New Testament was written almost entirely by Jews. But within only a couple centuries Gentiles became the majority in the church, and many were hostile to its Jewish origins. Even in Romans Paul warned the Gentiles not to be arrogant toward the Jews, but his words went unheeded. One reason was that early Christians needed to establish their identity as a new movement, and they defended their faith by focusing on their differences with Judaism.
Through the ages there has been occasional interest by Christians in understanding their Jewish roots, but for much of its history the church has struggled with anti-Semitism. And Jews who had felt the persecution of Christians were understandably less than interested in helping them understand the roots of their faith. It’s only been in the last century that Christians have become avidly interested in the topic. One reason for this is because we mingle so much more. Jews and Christians now have relative freedom to discuss their beliefs, and both groups are curious about how the other reads their common Scriptures.
This book was graciously provided for review by Lois Tverberg and Baker Publishing.
Happy reading!
I have known that the Hebrew culture has long been more of a "we" culture than a "me" one. Lois helped me see the depth of all of that. I loved how she said that Southerners had gotten this concept right with being a "y'all" society.
Her explanation of the word love being an action one took instead of an emotion that we respond to helped explain many scriptures. We actively love our neighbor and our enemy even when we do not feel loving. Our Westernized culture has made love about me and my feelings. Love is an outward response to the inward call of God.
I don't want to give away everything in the book. I want you to read it. Every single explanation and the excellent way she explained it was fascinating. Remember was another word that stood out to me. It can be confusing as to why God would need to remember things. This word usage wasn't about him forgetting and then recalling. It was about him acting on what he knew. Remembering was a call to act. For God to remember us was a petition for him to act on our behalf.
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I was fortunate to be able to ask Lois some questions with a handful of other bloggers. Here is that interview.
Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus
Interview Questions and Responses
You’ve written a couple of other books before this one that have similar titles – Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi
Jesus and Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus. How do they relate to your new book?
Sitting at the Feet was about the Jewish customs that deepen our understanding of Jesus’ life and ministry, like the biblical feasts, the Jewish prayers, and the relationship of rabbi and disciple. Walking in the Dust was about the Jewish context of Jesus’ teachings. Many of the things he said make much more sense when you know the conversation that was going on around him. Disciples are supposed to “walk in the ways” of their rabbi and obey his teaching. So I chose some of Jesus’ teachings that are especially practical for our lives and have a Jewish context that sheds light on their meaning.
My newest book, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, pulls back a bit and starts by looking at cultural issues that get in the way as we read the Bible in the modern, Western world. Among the things I asked myself as I wrote were, what cultural tools can I give readers to read the Bible more authentically? How does a lack of grasp of Jesus as a Jewish Middle Easterner cause us to misunderstand his words? Ultimately, my goal was to equip the average Christian to read the Bible more like first-century disciple.
In your new book you talk about cultural differences that get in the way of understanding the Bible and suggest that we need to grasp how the Bible “thinks.” What do you mean by that?
I started the book with a story about when my five year old nephew arrived in Iowa from Atlanta for Christmas. He had never seen snow before, so he asked, “What do you do with the snow when you have to mow the lawn?” He couldn’t imagine a reality where people didn’t mow their lawns year round, so he assumed it was universal. In the same way, many of our problems with the Bible come from misunderstanding its cultural reality and projecting our own onto it instead. We need to grasp how the Bible “thinks” – the basic background assumptions that biblical peoples had about life. Often these were very different than ours today. It’s also important that we don’t mix these two worlds together inappropriately, like mixing lawnmowers and snow.
You mention an acronym, “WEIRD,” that psychologists coined for the ways that that American culture is unusual compared to the rest of the world. How do you think this comes into play in reading the Bible?
The acronym “WEIRD” stands for “Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic.” All these traits tend to characterize Europeans and especially Americans. We live in an educated, Western culture that values scientific thought above all else. We are industrialized, so that our world does not revolve around family and clan, but around work and business. We are relatively rich, so that many basic worries are simply not on our radar screens. We live in a democracy and dislike all hierarchy and authority.
I point out that these same characteristics tend to set us apart culturally from the Bible, so that major biblical themes, like farming and kings, simply do not resonate. I explore these and other cultural difficulties that modern readers (especially Americans) have with the Bible.
There’s a chapter titled “Greek Brain, Hebrew Brain” where you discuss the difference between Western vs. Eastern thought. How does this influence how we read the Bible?
Western thinking is very analytical, theoretical and focused on abstract concepts. It began in Greece in the 5th century AD and has deeply affected European-based cultures. We see it as the essence of mental sophistication and have a hard time imagining that anyone could think any other way. Much of the Bible, however, communicates in a more ancient way. It speaks in concrete images and parables rather than abstract concepts and argumentation. In this chapter, I show that brilliant ideas can be expressed this way too, and to give readers some basic skills to bridge the gap between East and West.
Another chapter is called, “Why Jesus Needs those Boring ‘Begats.’” In it you point out that many people wonder why the Bible contains so many meaningless lists of names. What is significant about genealogies, culturally? Why were they included?
In the Bible, family was central. Even if you don’t agree with it on every issue, you have to grasp how it “thinks” in terms of family as the center of reality in order to follow its most basic themes. The growth and relationships of a family were the core of how societies functioned. The main theme of the biblical story is God’s promise to Abraham to give him a great family, and the covenant that God makes with that family, Israel. Every time genealogies are listed it shows how God is fulfilling his promise. Even in the New Testament, whether or not believers in Christ needed to be “sons of Abraham” (Torah-observant Jews, who lived by the family covenant) was a major issue.
How does our perspective change if we read the Bible as a “we” instead of merely as an individual?
Americans are very individualistic, and we tend to focus on the Bible as a series of personal encounters between individuals and God. We also assume that the ultimate audience for Bible reading is “me.” We miss how often the Scriptures focus on the group rather than the individual. When Jesus preaches, he’s almost always addressing a crowd. When Paul tells his audience that they are a temple of God, we hear it as about how “my body is a temple.” But Paul is actually talking about them all together as God’s temple, not to each of them individually. In this chapter I point out many places where things make more sense when you see them in light of their communal implications.
Here’s another example of how “we” is important. People talk about Jesus is “my personal savior” and struggle to find the gospel in the Gospels. That’s because the biblical imagery is actually about Christ saving a group of people. Jesus is the “Christ,” God’s anointed king, who has come to redeem a people to be his kingdom. When we “accept Christ” we are submitting to his kingship and joining his people. The imagery of a “kingdom” is inherently plural, so it passes right by us.
You tell about a Christian scholar who theorized that Paul knew his Scriptures by memory. Christian scholars were very skeptical, but Jewish scholars strongly agreed with him. Why was this story important to you?
When I first started hearing about Jesus’ Jewish context, I was skeptical about whether it could be of use to Christians. I was also skeptical of ideas like that Jesus and Paul likely knew their Scriptures (our Old Testament) by heart and expected their listeners to be very familiar with them too. I was told that they would hint to it and drop in little quotes often in their teaching, and these hints were often quite important to grasping the point.
At first, I absolutely didn’t believe this. But as I studied more about traditional Judaism, I discovered that even since the first century, rabbinic sermons have been overloaded with hints, quotes and subtle links to Bible passages. Memorization has been strongly stressed. I laughed when I read about a scholar on Paul’s Jewish context who spoke about this at conferences about twenty or thirty years ago. Christian scholars would all poo-poo him and say, “highly unlikely” or “totally impossible.” The Jewish scholars in his audience, however, would all nod their heads in agreement and say, of course he did!
In the last section of the book I go into more detail about how Jewish teachers studied their Scriptures and alluded to them in preaching. Most importantly, I talk about how some of Jesus’ boldest claims to being the Messiah, the Christ who God sent as Savior, were delivered in this very subtle Jewish way. There are a lot of skeptical scholars who have said that Jesus was just a wandering wise man whose followers exalted to a divine status. But they know nothing about Jesus’ Jewish habit of hinting to his Scriptures, so they miss some of his most powerful statements about being the Son of God.
What started your interest in the Jewishness of Jesus? Was there a particular event that piqued your interest?
I was raised in a devout Christian home. I’m not Jewish and my overall interest is in understanding the reality of Jesus and the Bible, rather than Judaism per se. A little over twenty years ago I signed up for a seminar on ancient Israel and the Jewish culture of the Bible at my church, thinking it would be just some dry historical information. But all of a sudden Bible stories that were foggy and confusing became clear and deeply relevant to my life. I started hearing the words of Scripture through the ears of its ancient listeners, and it made all the difference in the world.
My background was originally in the sciences, and I have a Ph. D. in biology. I was teaching as a college biology professor and my background in research compelled me to dig deeper. Over the years I’ve traveled to Israel several times to experience the land and history in person and to study the language and the culture. Every time I come home I’m newly inspired, because in the past few decades scholars and archaeologists have unearthed enormous amounts of information that clarifies the Bible’s stories, particularly the Jewish setting of Jesus.
Why do you think that so many Christians are unaware of their Jewish heritage?
All of the disciples were Jewish, and the New Testament was written almost entirely by Jews. But within only a couple centuries Gentiles became the majority in the church, and many were hostile to its Jewish origins. Even in Romans Paul warned the Gentiles not to be arrogant toward the Jews, but his words went unheeded. One reason was that early Christians needed to establish their identity as a new movement, and they defended their faith by focusing on their differences with Judaism.
Through the ages there has been occasional interest by Christians in understanding their Jewish roots, but for much of its history the church has struggled with anti-Semitism. And Jews who had felt the persecution of Christians were understandably less than interested in helping them understand the roots of their faith. It’s only been in the last century that Christians have become avidly interested in the topic. One reason for this is because we mingle so much more. Jews and Christians now have relative freedom to discuss their beliefs, and both groups are curious about how the other reads their common Scriptures.
This book was graciously provided for review by Lois Tverberg and Baker Publishing.
Happy reading!
October 30, 2018
I've read a lot of books and been in a lot of Sunday school lessons that talked about looking at the Bible from a Jewish perspective. I even spent a semester in Jerusalem studying the Old and New Testaments when I was in college. But Lois Tverberg's book still gave me new insights that prodded me to open my scriptures, get out my notebook, and look at things in a more enlightened way.
One of the major take-home messages for me was the concept that Jewish culture looks at the world much more collectively than my modern Western mindset. In my own "Mormon" doctrine, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is a lot of focus on being part of the House of Israel and the importance of the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant, and I've always wondered why that was such a big deal, as opposed to just looking at my individual relationship with Christ. Tverberg points out that in Biblical society, your family group, your "tribe," was a more crucial part of your identity than your independent self. It was where you fit into the larger group that mattered, thus the inclusion of all the "begats" in the Bible. So for a Jew of Christ's time, or for an early Christian, being numbered in the House of Israel was an important concept. It was being accepted or adopted into this "saved" group that one aspired to, whereas today all Christians look to be individually saved by accepting Christ as their personal Redeemer. That more collective mindset also reminds us that our priority is not only our own salvation, but that of the entire House of Israel (including all those who will be adopted in).
This mindset also gives the entire Bible - both Old and New Testaments - much more inner consistency and continuity in my understanding. It shows what the biblical patriarchs have to do with me today, and why the Old Testament is just as important to study as the New. As Tverberg writes:
(And I would go beyond this to say that The Book of Mormon goes even further to show how Abraham's covenant blesses ALL God's children).
Anyway, I generally turn to writers from my own church for my scriptural commentary, but I found this book hugely informative and uplifting, and would recommend it for "Mormons" and "non-Mormons" alike. 4.5 stars.
One of the major take-home messages for me was the concept that Jewish culture looks at the world much more collectively than my modern Western mindset. In my own "Mormon" doctrine, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is a lot of focus on being part of the House of Israel and the importance of the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant, and I've always wondered why that was such a big deal, as opposed to just looking at my individual relationship with Christ. Tverberg points out that in Biblical society, your family group, your "tribe," was a more crucial part of your identity than your independent self. It was where you fit into the larger group that mattered, thus the inclusion of all the "begats" in the Bible. So for a Jew of Christ's time, or for an early Christian, being numbered in the House of Israel was an important concept. It was being accepted or adopted into this "saved" group that one aspired to, whereas today all Christians look to be individually saved by accepting Christ as their personal Redeemer. That more collective mindset also reminds us that our priority is not only our own salvation, but that of the entire House of Israel (including all those who will be adopted in).
This mindset also gives the entire Bible - both Old and New Testaments - much more inner consistency and continuity in my understanding. It shows what the biblical patriarchs have to do with me today, and why the Old Testament is just as important to study as the New. As Tverberg writes:
Because it was assumed that descendants would be like the forefathers, it made sense that Abraham would instill in his children his strong faith in God, and a great nation of believers would result. That's really the overall "plot" of the Bible -- how would God fulfill his promise to Abraham, and how would this nation bless the whole world.
(And I would go beyond this to say that The Book of Mormon goes even further to show how Abraham's covenant blesses ALL God's children).
Anyway, I generally turn to writers from my own church for my scriptural commentary, but I found this book hugely informative and uplifting, and would recommend it for "Mormons" and "non-Mormons" alike. 4.5 stars.
February 16, 2022
A very helpful supplement to Biblical reading.
I decided to read the Bible this year, starting on January 1st, and will attempt to read it in its entirety by the end of the year. So far I've read through the books of Genesis, Job, and Exodus. While there were plenty of verses and chapters that I felt I understood enough to continue reading without getting completely lost, I felt some of the language was still difficult, even when looking up supposed meanings. This book was quite helpful in establishing how different the culture was in the time the Bible was written, and with an appendix of about thirty Hebraic words and their translations, I felt that so many passages have made more sense. Understanding how the plural and singular form of certain nouns was used interchangeably and also has been somewhat lost in translation, made a big difference in how I interpreted many verses in reading as opposed to how I was reading without much if any context before. Reading as an American white male in my early 30s did not give me much context to understand cultural differences that existed two thousand + years ago.
Though the subject matter is a bit dry at times, and I really wish the author would give her thoughts on the questions she asks for further thought at the end of each chapter, because I definitely don't feel like I had all the answers, overall, I find the Bible much less intimidating of a read than I did when I started it at the beginning of the year. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seriously considering reading the Bible for the first time, or even just for someone who wants some more context and clarity in scriptural readings. Anyone who hesitates to read Scripture or dismisses the Bible as being too old or too culturally different as to be obsolete in today's world, should read this book. When you look at the Bible through the lense of those that lived at the time it was written, it starts to make a whole lot more sense.
I decided to read the Bible this year, starting on January 1st, and will attempt to read it in its entirety by the end of the year. So far I've read through the books of Genesis, Job, and Exodus. While there were plenty of verses and chapters that I felt I understood enough to continue reading without getting completely lost, I felt some of the language was still difficult, even when looking up supposed meanings. This book was quite helpful in establishing how different the culture was in the time the Bible was written, and with an appendix of about thirty Hebraic words and their translations, I felt that so many passages have made more sense. Understanding how the plural and singular form of certain nouns was used interchangeably and also has been somewhat lost in translation, made a big difference in how I interpreted many verses in reading as opposed to how I was reading without much if any context before. Reading as an American white male in my early 30s did not give me much context to understand cultural differences that existed two thousand + years ago.
Though the subject matter is a bit dry at times, and I really wish the author would give her thoughts on the questions she asks for further thought at the end of each chapter, because I definitely don't feel like I had all the answers, overall, I find the Bible much less intimidating of a read than I did when I started it at the beginning of the year. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seriously considering reading the Bible for the first time, or even just for someone who wants some more context and clarity in scriptural readings. Anyone who hesitates to read Scripture or dismisses the Bible as being too old or too culturally different as to be obsolete in today's world, should read this book. When you look at the Bible through the lense of those that lived at the time it was written, it starts to make a whole lot more sense.
April 6, 2019
This book has changed the way I read the Bible. This is very new to me and even though this book gave me my first exposure to this perspective, I intend to focus on the Hebraic culture and their simplistic approach to words and it’s nuances. I also intend to research other books relating to this subject matter. I’ve found that reading Zion’s Fire Magazine ( articles authored by Jewish Christian Scholars) has added to my knowledge of the history of 1st century Arabic and Jewish culture and interpretation of their scriptures. As a western, Gentile and heir to the promise given to Abraham (Praise God), it makes sense to study the scriptures from a Jewish eye.
April 29, 2024
She overstates the importance of the conclusions she reached, most of which can be with the simple discipline of reading the Bible in its entirety every year. There just are no shortcuts for that.
My biggest complaint about this book is that she draws a straight line from Plato to us moderns, ignoring all Christian thought between here and there, which is pretty significant. What she calls "Western" thought is really modern/post-modern thought. She seems to be using Hebraic thought to stumble towards conclusions the church fathers reached hundreds of years ago.
My biggest complaint about this book is that she draws a straight line from Plato to us moderns, ignoring all Christian thought between here and there, which is pretty significant. What she calls "Western" thought is really modern/post-modern thought. She seems to be using Hebraic thought to stumble towards conclusions the church fathers reached hundreds of years ago.
April 10, 2022
This books brings a concept that challenges how we believe and interpret the Bible. Western Christianity forgets the Jewish context, Hebraic style of thinking, and the "Jewishness" of the Messiah. It suffers for it. We miss connections and even deeper meanings by neglecting these things. The ideas presented within the pages challenge us to break free of Western thought and understand Scripture in the style and context it was written.
November 8, 2020
This is my third Tverberg book I've read, and I love them all. She has clearly done her homework and research and is able to go back to the original Hebrew to find everything that gets lost in translation in English. I would highly recommend this to anyone. Start with "Sitting at the Feet" and "Walking in the Dust" of the Rabbi Jesus series before this one.
May 15, 2021
I read this last year and am catching up on my rating. Like other books by Lois, she once again made the Bible come alive through her Jewish historical perspective. As she unfolded the background of Jesus' words and stories, she increased my understanding of Scripture and made me want to dig in even more.
July 1, 2025
A very insightful listen on Audible. Looking at the scriptures from a Jewish mindset was great. A few comments made me disagree...but I do agree with looking at the bible with Jewish eyes and not Gentile...it does make more sense, than if you solely look at them from the Reformers understanding...in that I was encouraged.
October 18, 2019
Lois Tverberg is amazing. A scholar in the cultural and historical background of the Bible, she somehow manages to write a readable book for those of us who aren't members of the scholastic elite. Read any of her books and you'll be miles ahead of the game in understanding your Bible.
April 10, 2021
I have really loved this series on how looking at the Jewish context and culture in the time of Jesus makes his teachings and sayings easier to understand and grasp. This is the 3rd such book by this author and while my favorite is still "Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus", this one also brought a great deal of clarity to some passages and helped me dig a a bit deeper. I would strongly recommend this one and the 2 that came before it to anyone who better wants to understand Jesus and who He is as Messiah.
October 4, 2021
I learned so much. Much to process.
December 18, 2022
I'll be generous and give it 3 stars. Biblical culture was collectivist and we should remember that when we read it? That's it? That's the payoff for reading this book. It is written clearly and concisely and could be a necessary book depending where one is on their journey.
January 30, 2021
I was drawn to reading this book because our church had sponsored multiple bible studies led by a retired Rabbi and scholar who recently passed away. I've been missing him. They were excellent opportunities to broaden our understanding of both the Old and New Testaments and this book also added breadth to my understanding. I found the bible study exercises at the end to give additional depth to the reading. Much of it really resonated with me and made me think deeply about the scripture in a new way. Other parts seemed very obvious and I found myself skimming parts of it. Maybe because I have always been attracted to works about the historical times of Jesus. This would be a great resource to use for a group Bible study and it is an easy read... again making it good for a broad audience.
January 2, 2018
"Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus" looks at the differences between modern American and first century Jewish cultural perspectives in order to provide insights into the Bible. The author talked about why Jews expected the Messiah to be a king and how this assumption is woven into several New Testament events and conversations. She also explained why a just king would have been a desirable thing. She talked about differences between Greek (logical, theoretical) and Eastern thinking patterns. She explored how the Hebrew language reflects this different way of thinking (which sometimes makes translation difficult).
She talked about the cultural perspective that family and community are more important than the individual, thus making the begats sections and a person's family name (reputation) important to them. She talked about how they didn't question the existence of God, but that a god that cared about humans was unique. She talked about how people learned Scripture at the time of Jesus, and how they linked similar memorized verses to study and better understand the point being made. She showed how Jesus made Messianic claims, just in a very Jewish way that isn't obvious to Westerners. Finally, she applied some of her previous points to Isaiah 53 to illuminate things that Westerners might miss.
She sometimes discussed information that she talked about in her other books or that can be found in other Eastern versus Western perspective books, but she also explored aspects that I hadn't previously heard or discussed them in a slightly different way so it wasn't just repetition. I found her explanations easy to follow, which I haven't always found true with these Eastern/Western perspective books. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book (and her previous Rabbi Jesus books).
I received a free ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
She talked about the cultural perspective that family and community are more important than the individual, thus making the begats sections and a person's family name (reputation) important to them. She talked about how they didn't question the existence of God, but that a god that cared about humans was unique. She talked about how people learned Scripture at the time of Jesus, and how they linked similar memorized verses to study and better understand the point being made. She showed how Jesus made Messianic claims, just in a very Jewish way that isn't obvious to Westerners. Finally, she applied some of her previous points to Isaiah 53 to illuminate things that Westerners might miss.
She sometimes discussed information that she talked about in her other books or that can be found in other Eastern versus Western perspective books, but she also explored aspects that I hadn't previously heard or discussed them in a slightly different way so it wasn't just repetition. I found her explanations easy to follow, which I haven't always found true with these Eastern/Western perspective books. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book (and her previous Rabbi Jesus books).
I received a free ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
May 7, 2020
Four and 1/2 stars. I listened on audiobook on Hoopla and will probably purchase this one in a real book format and for back and study. Well written and just scholarly enough.
September 22, 2023
Dr. Tverberg did an excellent job communicating the historical and cultural context of the Old Testament writings. The reader is more adept after reading this book to help them recognize how much their Western thinking has hampered their understanding of the Old and New Testaments. With a better understanding, the reader will be able to appreciate scripture in its proper context.
Also, I may add that I read the Kindle version as I followed along by listening to the Audible version. That being said, I must congratulate Pam Ward for her amazing reading of this book. Her voice was pleasant, her speed was not too quick, and her pronunciation of Hebrew and Greek words was phenomenal. Amazing job to both Dr. Lois Tverberg for writing a great book and Pam Ward for her reading aloud the book.
Also, I may add that I read the Kindle version as I followed along by listening to the Audible version. That being said, I must congratulate Pam Ward for her amazing reading of this book. Her voice was pleasant, her speed was not too quick, and her pronunciation of Hebrew and Greek words was phenomenal. Amazing job to both Dr. Lois Tverberg for writing a great book and Pam Ward for her reading aloud the book.
April 1, 2024
The call for Chistians to read the Old Testament and learn to see how so much of it permeates the New Testament is good. Privileging Jewish interpretation just because it is Jewish is not, particularly when the sources would have been unfriendly to Christians.
I have the same basic complaints with this as Tverberg's other book. She far overstates how far removed Western and Eastern mindsets are, overstates how Christians can't read the Bible without Jewish background, engages in questionable linguistic practices, and just gives the overall impression that Christians have been off the tracks for a long time and need the Jewish tradition to bring us back.
My impression is that Jewish interpretation opened up her eyes to her very shallow reading of Scripture, and so she basically presents it as the silver bullet. I don't get the impression that she has much knowledge of historic Christian interpretation. And because she privileges Jewish perspective so much, she tends to downplay Christians a whole lot. It's a weird result. I'm glad that this way of reading helped her be able to read the Bible better, but I can't help but think Christians have been reading the Bible a lot better than she gives them credit for (I have heard much of this presented in other contexts that were decidedly not Jewish), and the gulf seems to more reflect her own upbringing than Western Christianity in general.
I have the same basic complaints with this as Tverberg's other book. She far overstates how far removed Western and Eastern mindsets are, overstates how Christians can't read the Bible without Jewish background, engages in questionable linguistic practices, and just gives the overall impression that Christians have been off the tracks for a long time and need the Jewish tradition to bring us back.
My impression is that Jewish interpretation opened up her eyes to her very shallow reading of Scripture, and so she basically presents it as the silver bullet. I don't get the impression that she has much knowledge of historic Christian interpretation. And because she privileges Jewish perspective so much, she tends to downplay Christians a whole lot. It's a weird result. I'm glad that this way of reading helped her be able to read the Bible better, but I can't help but think Christians have been reading the Bible a lot better than she gives them credit for (I have heard much of this presented in other contexts that were decidedly not Jewish), and the gulf seems to more reflect her own upbringing than Western Christianity in general.
June 15, 2020
The premise of this book is to help modern readers “mentally bridge the culture gap . . . in order to read the Bible as natives.” Tverberg takes decades of scholarly research and distills it into an accessible book that covers such topics as:
• reading the Bible with a communal perspective,
• understanding the differences between the Hebrew and English languages, and more
My biggest issue with the book was the inconsistency in the depth and scope of the chapters. Some of the chapters felt obvious to me, while others felt like they took a jump off the deep end. For example, Chapter 6 is about the importance of family identity and was a broad flyby that seemed obvious and could have been summarized under a different chapter. Whereas Chapter 10 plunged into analyzing first century liturgical practices and how they’ve shifted over the years. I was able to make the mental leaps with the author but still see this as a flaw in the book. My brain was shifting from skimming/checking out to rereading passages/deep study. That said, I’m still rating it four stars because overall this is a helpful book.
Having previously read Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by Brandon J O'Brien and E. Richards, Tverberg’s book is a quicker and more accessible read. However, for someone looking for a more thorough and academically-consistent read, I’d recommend the O’Brien and Richards book.
• reading the Bible with a communal perspective,
• understanding the differences between the Hebrew and English languages, and more
My biggest issue with the book was the inconsistency in the depth and scope of the chapters. Some of the chapters felt obvious to me, while others felt like they took a jump off the deep end. For example, Chapter 6 is about the importance of family identity and was a broad flyby that seemed obvious and could have been summarized under a different chapter. Whereas Chapter 10 plunged into analyzing first century liturgical practices and how they’ve shifted over the years. I was able to make the mental leaps with the author but still see this as a flaw in the book. My brain was shifting from skimming/checking out to rereading passages/deep study. That said, I’m still rating it four stars because overall this is a helpful book.
Having previously read Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by Brandon J O'Brien and E. Richards, Tverberg’s book is a quicker and more accessible read. However, for someone looking for a more thorough and academically-consistent read, I’d recommend the O’Brien and Richards book.
January 21, 2022
Pretty good overall, although (strangely) she gets some things wrong: e.g. the claim that English doesn't distinguish between 2nd person singular and 2nd person plural. While this is true of modern English, it is not true of the English of the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible. See, for example, Luke 22v31,32, where Jesus says to Simon Peter: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have YOU (2nd person plural, i.e. the disciples gathered together for the Last Supper), that he may sift YOU as wheat. But I have prayed for THEE (2nd person singular, i.e. Simon Peter) that thy faith fail thee not." This puts a whole different spin on Jesus' words than if we read a modern version, where the distinction is almost always lost.
But in general, I'd recommend this book as a great way to reset your New Testament reading by adding in perspectives and vital background found in the (all too often neglected) Old Testament.
But in general, I'd recommend this book as a great way to reset your New Testament reading by adding in perspectives and vital background found in the (all too often neglected) Old Testament.
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